Polluter-written PFAS and 1,4-dioxane rules with no pollution cuts are unethical, SELC says to N.C. Commission

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Proposed polluter-written rules regarding PFAS and 1,4-dioxane do not require polluters to reduce toxic discharges into drinking water supplies relied on by families and communities across North Carolina, the Southern Environmental Law Center and 13 other community groups told the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission in comments submitted today. The rules proposed by the N.C. EMC impose no consequences even if polluters increase their toxic pollution. Thousands of people from across North Carolina also submitted comments to the EMC in opposition to the proposed rules, and 155 North Carolinians spoke in opposition at public hearings.

“After decades of toxic chemical exposure from industrial pollution, our communities are now being asked by the EMC to wait indefinitely and hope that industry will voluntarily reduce its pollution,” said Jean Zhuang, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “These proposed rules were not written to protect our families—they were written to protect polluters. It’s unethical for the EMC to defer to polluters instead of acting to reduce harmful pollution in our drinking water.”

Under these proposed rules, North Carolina communities will be unfairly forced to pay to clean up water polluted by upstream industries—or to drink contaminated water. A timeline of public records regarding these proposed polluter-written PFAS and 1,4-dioxane rules is available here.

North Carolina families, businesses, schools, and communities deserve real action on PFAS and 1,4-dioxane. The EMC has the information and authority to adopt health-protective water quality standards right now. In its comments, SELC called on the EMC to abandon these polluter-written rules and promptly adopt water quality limits for PFAS and 1,4-dioxane. The comments said that, at minimum, the rules should be revised to require mandatory pollution reduction targets and public transparency for all sampling data.

As many as 4.8 million North Carolinians drink water contaminated with unsafe levels of PFAS, and more than one million drink water threatened by cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane. Harmful levels of PFAS have been detected in North Carolina fish and crops, and in certain parts of the state, women and children are told to refrain from eating even one fish to protect themselves.

Both PFAS and 1,4-dioxane are harmful to our health at incredibly low levels and cannot be removed by conventional drinking water treatment. Stopping these harmful chemicals at their industrial source before they reach our rivers, creeks, and drinking water supplies protects the health of families and communities and ensures that polluters pay instead of downstream communities and drinking water treatment facilities.

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission voted to move these polluter-written rules forward in its meeting on January 8, 2026. The EMC is made of 15 members—three of which are appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford and Rockingham Counties), three appointed by the Speaker of the House Destin Hall (R-Caldwell and Watauga Counties), two appointed by state Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler (R) and seven appointed by Governor Josh Stein (D).